Vapor sample collection apparatus and method for vapor sample collection

ABSTRACT

A vapor sample collection apparatus and method of vapor sample collection. The vapor sample collection apparatus has a connection port to connect a first end of a tube to an exhaust port of a vaporizer device, a vacuum pump connected to a second end of the tube, a manifold connected to the vacuum pump, and a vapor containment vessel for collecting a vapor sample, where the vacuum pump is configured to draw a predetermined pressure on the tube. The method of vapor sample collection includes connecting a connection port to an exhaust port of a vaporizer device, the connection port being attached to a first end of a tube, activating the vaporizer device to vaporize a sample containing an active ingredient, drawing a predetermined pressure on a second end of the tube using a vacuum pump, and collecting a vapor sample from the vaporizer device in a vapor containment vessel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to: PCT Patent Application No.PCT/US2021/022787, entitled “Accurate Dosing of Vaporizer Content,”filed Mar. 17, 2021, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/990,769, entitled “System for the capturing andquantification of vapor content,” filed Mar. 17, 2020, and also claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/993,211, entitled“System for the use of polynomial driven vapor dosage calculations,”filed Mar. 23, 2020, all of which are herein incorporated by referencein their entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to controlling doses of activeingredients from vaporizers, and more specifically relates toquantifying the dose of active ingredients in relation to vaporizeroperating parameters.

BACKGROUND

A vaporizer is a device used to extract the active ingredients of amaterial, typically plant material such as herbs or herbal blends, forinhalation by a user. Vaporization involves heating the material toextract its active compounds as a vapor. In contrast, smoking involvesthe release of active compounds through combustion, typically with otherparticulate matter, noxious gasses, and possible carcinogens. Interestin vaporizers for both recreational and medical use has increasedrecently, in part from the reduced risks compared to smoking.

In comparison to other drug delivery methods, such as ingestion,vaporization has a more rapid onset of pharmacological effect, directdelivery into the bloodstream via the lungs, and more precise titrationsuch that the desired level is reached and not exceeded, enablingconsistent and appropriate dosage.

Vaporizers utilizing convection-based heating methods employ the use ofa heating element. Air is drawn into the vaporizer, heated by theheating element, and then passes across the material to extract itsactive ingredients as a vapor. The heated air and vaporized activeingredients are then delivered to the user via a mouthpiece. The airtemperature needed to extract active ingredients from an herbal materialvaries depending on the herbal material, but generally ranges from 180to 360° C.

When a user inhales too much vapor from the vaporizer device, the usermay experience an undesirable amount of the effects of the activeingredients.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Controlling the amount of active ingredient(s) or dose in vapor beingdrawn, or informing the user as to the amount of vapor and activeingredient(s) being drawn, or available to be drawn can allow the userto better control the resulting effects. Thus, it is preferable toprovide a vaporizer device that is capable of monitoring and/orcontrolling the mass flow rate within the vaporizer device to regulatethe dosage of active ingredients being inhaled by the user. Correlatingthe vaporizer device parameters with a particular sample, and providinga desired dose based on a predicted dosing calculation allows the deviceto deliver specified quantity or dose of active ingredients.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide devices, vapormanagement systems and methods that can capture, quantify, analyze, andcorrelate data from vaporizer devices and the vaporized product, andprovide suggested vaping profiles to vaporizer devices for desireddosing.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a vaporizer device includes areceptacle for holding material having an active ingredient, a heatingelement for heating the receptacle or for heating air as it flows to thereceptacle, a controller configured to receive vapor productioninformation from sensors inside the vaporizer device. The controller isalso configured to generate vapor production data including a sampleidentifier associated with the material and at least one of thefollowing: crucible temperature, vapor temperature, vapor flow rate,vapor pressure, vapor flow duration, vapor density, heating duration,material pack density, and heating power. The vaporizer device alsoincludes an electronic memory configured to store the vapor productiondata. In some embodiments, various sensors may be used, such as, acrucible temperature sensor, a vapor temperature sensor, a vapor flowrate sensor, a vapor pressure sensor, a vapor flow duration sensor, apressure differential sensor, and a vapor density sensor.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of using avaporizer device includes providing material having an active ingredientand heating the receptacle or heating air as it flows to a receptaclecontaining the material. Vapor production information is received fromsensors inside the vaporizer device, and vapor production data isgenerated that includes a sample identifier associated with the materialand at least one parameter, selected from the following: crucibletemperature, vapor temperature, vapor flow rate, vapor pressure, vaporflow duration, vapor density, heating duration, material pack density,pressure differential, material age, and heating power. The method alsostores the vapor production data. In an embodiment, vapor productiondata over a communications network to a vapor profile management system.

According to another embodiment of the disclosure, a vaporizer profilemanagement system (VPMS) includes a vaporizer device that has anelectronic memory configured to store vapor production data for a samplematerial having an active ingredient. The vapor production data includesa sample identifier, and data concerning at least one of the following:an active ingredient, crucible temperature, air flow rate, and durationof flow. The vaporizer device also has a communications interfaceconfigured to transmit the stored vapor production data to a computingplatform. The VPMS also includes a vapor analyzing device that isconfigured to generate vapor content data derived from vapor collectedfrom an exhaust port of the vaporizer device. The vapor content dataincludes the sample identifier and data including concentration of theactive ingredient. The VPMS also includes a computing platformconfigured to receive and process the vapor production data and thevapor content data.

Yet another embodiment of the disclosure includes providing a vapor datarepository. This may include electronic storage for vapor productiondata from a vaporizer device, in which the vapor production dataincludes a sample identifier associated with material having an activeingredient and vaping parameters. The vaping parameters may include atleast one of the following: crucible temperature, vapor temperature,vapor flow rate, vapor pressure, vapor flow duration, vapor density,heating duration, vapor pressure differential, material age, and heatingpower. The vapor data repository may also have electronic storage forvapor content data that includes concentration of active ingredient datacaptured by a vapor sample collection apparatus.

In still another embodiment, a vapor sample collection apparatus mayinclude a connection port adapted to connect a first end of a tube to anexhaust port of a vaporizer device, a vacuum pump connected to a secondend of the tube, a manifold connected to the vacuum pump, and a vaporcontainment vessel for collecting vapor samples. The vacuum pump isconfigured to draw a predetermined pressure on the tube.

In still another embodiment, a vaporizer device has a receptacle forholding material having an active ingredient. The vaporizer device alsohas a heating element for heating air as it flows to the receptacle, aswell as an electronic storage memory for storing vapor correlation data.The device also has a controller configured to control at least onevaporizer parameter according to instructions in the vapor correlationdata and a requested dose of active ingredient, such that at least onevaporizer parameter includes at least one of temperature, air flow rate,and duration per use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a diagram of an embodiment of a vaporizer in accordance withthe present disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a sectioned diagram of an embodiment of a vaporizer inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 1C is an exploded diagram of an embodiment of a vaporizer inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a vaporizer device inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a vapor sample collection apparatus inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for capturing andquantification of vapor content according to the preset disclosure;

FIG. 5A is a schematic block diagram of a vaporizer profile managementsystem in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B is a schematic block diagram of a vapor production data datasetin accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 5C is a schematic block diagram of a vapor content data dataset inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary graph showing measured amount of activeingredient(s) extracted in a vaporizer device 100 against crucibleheating time for various different temperature profiles in accordancewith the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a process for using a vaporizer profilemanagement system to provide a selected dose of active ingredient in avaporizer device in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described hereinafter with reference tothe accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and whichillustrate example embodiments which may be practiced. As used in thedisclosures and the appended claims, the terms “embodiment”, “exampleembodiment”, and “exemplary embodiment” do not necessarily refer to asingle embodiment, although they may, and various example embodimentsmay be readily combined and interchanged, without departing from thescope or spirit of example embodiments.

Furthermore, the terminology as used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing example embodiments only and is not intended to belimitations. In this respect, as used herein, the term “in” may include“in” and “on”, and the terms “a,” “an” and “the” may include singularand plural references. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “by” mayalso mean “from”, depending on the context. Furthermore, as used herein,the term “if” may also mean “when” or “upon,” depending on the context.Furthermore, as used herein, the words “and/or” may refer to andencompass any and all possible combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items. It will be appreciated by those of ordinaryskill in the art that the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodiedin other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essentialcharacter thereof. The presently disclosed embodiments are thereforeconsidered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive.

FIG. 1A is a perspective diagram, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional diagram,and FIG. 1C is an exploded perspective diagram of an embodiment of avaporizer device 100.

Vaporizer device 100 has a body 110 with an outer case 112. The body 110is of a size and shape to allow the vaporizer device 100 to becomfortably held in a user's hand. A mouthpiece 114 is provided at anexhaust port 116 at one end of the body 112, from which heated air andactive ingredient(s) exit the vaporizer device 100. A user may inhale onthe mouthpiece 114 to receive the heated air and active ingredients. Theouter case 112 has an opening 118 proximate to the exhaust port 116. Theopening 118 defines an inlet 120 to the vaporizer device 100. Air isdrawn into the vaporizer device 100 at the inlet 120 as the user inhaleson the mouthpiece 114.

Depending on the material containing active ingredient(s) used with thevaporizer device 100, the temperature of the heated air or thetemperature of the crucible required to extract the material's activeingredients may be too high for a user to comfortably inhale. In someembodiments, the active material may be in a liquid or a wax form andput in a crucible that is heated to release the active material asvapor. In other embodiments, the active material may be in a solid,semi-solid, crystalline, crushed, shredded, or powder form (or the like)in which it is placed in a crucible that receives heated air over orthrough it in order to release the active ingredient as vapor. Thevaporizer device 10 may include a heatsink 122 that absorbs heat fromthe heated air and active ingredient(s) prior to entering the mouthpiece114, cooling the air and active ingredient(s) inhaled by the user. Theinlet 120 is provided adjacent the heatsink 122. Locating the inlet 120near the heatsink 122 allows air being drawn into the inlet 120 to bewarmed by the heatsink 122.

The vaporizer device 100 includes a receptacle 126 into which materialcontaining active ingredient(s) may be placed by the user. A door 124may be hinged to the body 110 to provide the user with access to thereceptacle 126 in order to add material to or remove spent material fromthe receptacle 126.

In use, in an embodiment, air flows into the vaporizer device 100, to aheating device 127 where it is heated, across the material in thereceptacle 126 where active ingredient(s) are extracted by the heat intothe air and delivered to the user. As mentioned above, in anotherembodiment, the crucible may be heated directly to release the activeingredient as vapor. In each embodiment, it should be apparent to theperson of ordinary skill that heat transfer by conductive, convective,or radiative techniques may be used to extract the active ingredient asvapor. The temperature can be adjustable by the user via controls on thedevice or via a vaporizer application 182 or app on a communicativelycoupled handheld electronic device 180. The path of the airflow frominlet 120 to exhaust at mouthpiece 114 is shown by flow pathway 164.

The vaporizer device 100 can include a power source, for example abattery 128. As used here, the term battery means a single battery orseveral batteries connected to provide a portable power source,preferably integrated within the body 110 of vaporizer device 100,although in some embodiments, an external battery or power source may beconnected to provide primary or supplementary power to vaporizer device100. Any desired type of battery 128 can be used depending on designparameters such as power requirements and size and weight restrictions.Batteries can be removable or fixed and can be rechargeable ornon-rechargeable. With use of a rechargeable battery, charge circuitryand power management circuitry may be utilized in the vaporizer device100 to optimize recharging, charge storage, discharge management, andprovide charge status to display 138 or application 182. Battery 128 maybe charged via a power cord physically connected to vaporizer device100, via physical electrical contacts on a charge port 132 with a chargecradle connected to a power supply (not shown), via a communicationsport 134 (e.g.,, a USB port), or via wireless inductive chargetechniques, for example, Qi, which is an open interface standard thatdefines wireless power transfer using inductive charging.

The vaporizer device 100 can further include controller 130 for allowingthe user to control parameters of the vaporizer device, for example thetemperature, air flow rate, and/or duration per use. For example,duration can be controlled by the controller 130 by controlling thedelivery of power and heating time of the heating element. Thecontroller 130 can be analogue or digital discrete circuitry and caninclude a central processing unit (“CPU”), microprocessor, system on achip (“SOC”), an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), anembedded controller, Field Programmable Gate Array (“FPGA”), or otherappropriate controller devices, and any combination thereof.

The controller 130 can also include memory 133 or other data storage135. The controller 130 can store vapor production data 190 as well asvaporizer profiles associated with a medium described herein as vaporcorrelation data 550. Creation and use of such vaporizer profiles/vaporcorrelation data 550 is discussed in more detail in the foregoingspecification. The controller 130 can also store historic data, such asduration of use, temperature profile, and vapor mass flow, among others.The controller 130 can also store a unique identifier for the vaporizerdevice 100 that allows it to be identified and associated with a userwhen the VPMS 300 remotely connects to or receives data from it.

The vaporizer profiles may be programmed manually or provided viacommunications network 170, and the controller 130 may includecommunications interface circuitry 140. In an embodiment, the mobiledevice 180 may receive the vaporizer profile from VPMS 300 via thenetwork 170 and in turn provide it to the controller 130 of thevaporizing device 100 in real time, on demand, or during periodic datadownloads. The network 170 may include different channels ofcommunication and may include local networks therein. For example, thenetwork 170 may include wireless communication through cellularnetworks, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, or any combination thereof, as wellas physical connections via a cable, for example, a Universal Serial Bus(“USB”) port 134 or the like. Additionally, the vaporizer device 100 maybe connected to communications network 170 via a wired or wireless localcommunication connection through mobile device 180 that may have avaporizer application 182 installed thereon. The network 170 may includeone or more switches and/or routers, including wireless routers thatconnect the wireless communication channels with other wired networks(e.g., the Internet). A local network may exist that connects locally tothe VPMS 300 or the vaporizer device 100. For example, the local networkmay be established by a local router or a local switch.

In some embodiments, the VPMS 300 can communicate with a mobile device180, for example a smartphone, tablet, or Internet of Things (IoT)device. In such embodiments, VPMS 300 may communicate with asolution-specific application 182 installed on the mobile device 180.The application can include a user interface to allow a user to read,interact, and respond to information from the VPMS 300. The VPMS 300 canbe configured to communicate to the mobile device 180 any of theinformation discussed herein as being communicated with the vaporizerdevice 100. In some embodiments, the mobile device 180 can be configuredto communicate any, or none, of the information with the vaporizerdevice 100.

Some embodiments of vaporizer device 100 can include user input controls136, such as buttons or switches. The vaporizer device 100 can providefeedback to the user by means of a display 138. Some display embodimentscan include a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The LEDs may beactivated individually or together, may be configured to flash at one ormore speeds or may be on continuously, and may each be a single color ormulti-color, or combinations of these to provide a range of indicationsto the user. Such indications may include charge status of the battery,an ‘on’ state of the device 100, and whether the vaporizer device 100 isready for use. Display 138 may also be an LCD, or OLED display, or otherknown addressable display technology for interfacing with and presentinginformation to a user. Display 138 may also have a touch-sensitive userinterface instead of or in addition to user input controls 136 for thepurpose of operating and interacting with vaporizer device 100.

Controller 130 may receive sensor information from different sensors 150within the vaporizer device 100. For example, the controller 130 maycollect data from a thermocouple(s) 152 that may measure crucibletemperature, air flow rate sensor(s) 154, pressure sensor(s) 156, vapordensity sensor(s) 158, mass flow rate analyzer(s) 160. It is to beunderstood that the individual measuring or sensor devices within thevaporizer device 100 are in electrical communication with the controller130.

A mass flow rate analyzer 160 may be a miniature mass spectrometer forin situ analysis, a photodiode with a phototransistor array, a particlecounter or smoke detector, or any other suitable device for measuringmass flow rate within the vaporizer device 100. In an embodiment, atleast one photodiode with a phototransistor array is disposed within asensor ring. The sensor ring of photodiodes may circumscribe amouthpiece of the vaporizer device with a phototransistor arrayincluding a set of emitting diodes disposed on opposite sides of themouthpiece. Alternatively, the sensor ring may be disposed within acavity formed below the mouthpiece. In one embodiment, the sensor ringmay be disposed above the crucible. The attenuation of light signal fromphotodiode to phototransistor sensor may provide optical transmissiondata that can indicate vapor density. Using photodiodes of differentwavelengths and/or wavelength tunable photodiodes in the phototransistorarray many provide various data related to particulates in the vapor.

Air flow rate sensor 154 may be provided in the air passageway withinvaporizer device 100 and may provide the rate of flow. An exemplary flowrate sensor 154 may be provided by an impellor-driven generator, or asolid-state sensor that can measure flow rate.

A pair of pressure sensors 156 may be used to measure flow rate, eachpressure sensor being located at different places in the air passageway,for example in an embodiment, a first sensor located after the crucibleand another downstream before the mouthpiece. The differential inpressure may be used to calculate a flow rate.

Vapor density within the vaporizer device 100 may also be calculatedbased on the volume of the air passageway and the mass of the vapor.

Another input that may be received by the controller 130 is the age ofthe material, since the material may have a shelf life that is directlyrelated to the yield of the material when vaporized.

Yet another input that may be received by the controller 130 is previousvaporizing history of the material, in that it may have been used inprevious vaporizing sessions, and the sensors have recorded parametersregarding those sessions. These recorded parameters may be used tocalculate used active ingredient for a dosage history and/or provideremaining active ingredient, remaining potency, or remaining doseinformation for subsequent vaporizer activations.

In some embodiments, the vaporizing medium can be detected by thevaporizing device 100 by use of an optical sensor on the vaporizerdevice itself or the connected application 182 on mobile device 180, forscanning barcodes on capsules or packages of the herbal medium thatidentify the contents. As will be appreciated by a person of ordinaryskill, there are many ways of calculating flow rate, temperature, vapordensity, and so on. The present teachings give some examples of datathat may be collected and used to determine such variables.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a vaporizer device in accordance withthe present disclosure. As described in FIG. 1, the various componentsare communicatively coupled or electrically coupled as shown in thefigure. As may be appreciated by a skilled artisan, there may beinterface devices between the various schematic functional blocks.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a vapor sample collection apparatus 200in accordance with the present disclosure. The vapor sample collectionapparatus 200 includes a connection port 202 adapted to connect a firstend of a tube 204 to an exhaust port 116 of a vaporizer device 100.Exhaust port 116 may be accessed by removing mouthpiece 114 so thatconnection port 202 can be connected thereto. Exhaust port 116preferably has a similar fit to mouthpiece 114 that is sufficiently snugso that there is minimal loss of vapor at the connection port 202 to theoutside world. A vacuum pump 206 may be connected to a second end of thetube 204, and a manifold 208 may be connected to the vacuum pump 206.Vapor containment vessels 210 a-210 n may be used for collecting vaporsamples 212 a-212 n, where n is the number of vapor samples collected216.

The vacuum pump 206 may be configured to draw a predetermined pressureon the tube 204 and may be metered to draw off the vaporized activecompounds of a material for collection from vaporizer device 100. Vacuumpump 204 may be connected to a controller 214 to control the filling ofvapor into collection vessels 210 a-210 n (where n is the number ofvessels). Controller 214 controls vapor collection parameters such asvacuum pressure, flow rate and time of capture, and may also controlmanifold 208 to selectively allow capture in a single or multiple vaporcontainment vessels 210 a-210 n.

Vapor contained in vessels 210 a-210 n may be collected and analyzed bya laboratory 216. Analysis by a laboratory 216 may be performed usingmass spectrometry or other laboratory techniques for quantifying andthus provide detailed information of the composition of contents of thecaptured vapor in vapor content data 240.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an example process for capturing andquantification of vapor content 400 according to the present disclosure.Some steps shown in FIG. 4 may be performed by any suitablecomputer-executable code and/or computing system, including VaporProfile Management System 500 in FIG. 5. Some of the steps shown in FIG.4 may represent an algorithm whose structure includes and/or can be isrepresented by multiple sub-steps, examples of which will be provided ingreater detail below.

The process 400 begins with initiation of a sample collection at step402. Next, vaporizer device 100 is connected to sample collectionapparatus 200 in step 404. Sample material containing an activeingredient is loaded into receptacle 126 on vaporizer device 100 at step406. Next, a sample identifier is entered or captured that is associatedwith the sample material (e.g., QR code, barcode, serial number, etc.),at step 408. The process continues by setting the vaporizer parameterson the vaporizer device 100, at step 410. In sequence, the vaporizerprocess on device 100 is started and vapor is collected using samplecollection apparatus 200, at step 412. Various vaporizer operatingparameters and data from sensors 150 from vaporizer device 100concerning the vapor production are recorded at step 414. The samplefrom vaporizer device 100 is drawn using the vapor sample collectionapparatus 200 and stored in a vapor containment vessel(s) 210 a-210 n,to be analyzed by laboratory in step 416. A laboratory analyzescomposition of the sample from vaporizer device 100 in step 418. Variousvapor production data 190 from vaporizer device 100, sample collectionapparatus 200 and various vapor content data 240 from the laboratoryanalysis may be transmitted over communications network 170 and storedin a dataset 600 in vaporizer profile management system 500, at step420.

Determining the amounts of active ingredients extracted through thevaporizing process and present in the vapor in the most accurate waypossible and informing the user and/or device of these amounts allowsthe device to deliver specified and tightly controlled quantity ofactive ingredients. Such is highly desirable to deliver accurate dosesto users of vaporizer device 100.

FIG. 5A is a schematic block diagram of a vaporizer profile managementsystem (“VPMS”) 500 in accordance with the present disclosure. VPMS 500may include a computing platform 510 with a communications interface 512to receive vapor production data 190 from vaporizer device 100, and toreceive vapor content data 240 from a laboratory. Communicationsinterface 512 may also have provision for receiving data imports fromdata storage means such as DVD, Blu-ray disks, flash memory, hard drivesor any other physical data storage device.

Vapor data repository 520 stores vapor production data 190 and vaporcontent data 240 in a dataset 600.

FIG. 5B is a schematic block diagram of an example vapor production datadataset 190. Examples of vapor production data 190 may be data that isentered or captured by vaporizer device 100 (and/or connected mobiledevice application 182), as shown in data group 192. Examples of suchdata include capture date 602, sample identifier 604, samplemanufacturer 606, vapor device ID 608, sample type 610, previous vapeinfo 612, intended dose 614, sample quantity 616, sample pack density618, active ingredient quantity 620, sample active ingredients 622, andCrucible type 624.

Data group 194 includes information that is captured by sensors duringthe production of vapor and may include Crucible temperature 640,Crucible heating time 642, Crucible heating power 644, vapor temperature646, vapor flow rate 648, vapor light transmission 650, vapor density652, vapor volume 654.

FIG. 5C is a schematic block diagram of an example vapor content datadataset 240, which contains data that is received from a laboratory thatanalyzes the collected vapor sample. Data 242 includes parametersassociated with the sample identification and other related metadata,while data group 244 includes data from the laboratory analysis. Dataset 242 may include capture date 602, sample identifier 604, laboratoryanalysis date 672, laboratory analysis method 674, analysis lab ID 676,analysis technician ID 678. In general, it may be seen that these datefields may be helpful for an audit trail. Data set 244 may includemeasurement data of the sample(s) and will provide identified activeingredients and quantities for active ingredients a through n, where nis the number of active ingredients.

Referring back to FIG. 5A, vapor correlation engine 530 analyzes thedataset 600 and correlates vapor content data 240 and actual measuredactive ingredients measured in samples with vapor production data 190.Such correlation may be performed with machine learning module 540,which may use predictive analysis techniques, using vapor content data240 and vapor production data 190 as input training data. Vaporcorrelation data 550 is generated, providing temperature-dependentextraction curves for each specific compound in a type of consumablematerial, associated with a sample identifier, along with productionvariables specific to use of vaporizer device 100 as measured by sensors150 or input into vapor production data 190, such as draw speed, packdensity of material, ambient temperature, and so on.

As used here, vapor correlation data 550 provides information thatcorrelates dosage for active ingredient(s) in a particular material withoperating parameters (e.g., heating element temperature and duration)for a vaporizer device. As more vapor correlation data 550 generatedfrom the collected vapor production data 190 and vapor content data 240is collected and analyzed as training data by machine learning module540, this provides more accuracy in determining thetemperature-dependent extraction curves described above. With increasedcollection and analysis of data, the curves become more accurate and canbe represented in higher resolution, for example, by polynomialequations created from curve fitting the data to polynomial functions.The polynomial functions will be representative of extraction and dosingpredictions across variables considered in the available data and willbe able to correlate the vapor being produced to the specific compoundsextracted from the consumable across relevant variables. Machinelearning module 540 may use pattern recognition, extrapolationtechniques, and probability predictions to match desired dose parametersfor extracted chemical compounds with production parameters to be usedon vaporizer device 100 to deliver such desired dose. A data set ofvapor correlation data 550 is created, providing a database that may bequeried for vaporizer production parameters to be used for a desireddose.

The data set of vapor correlation data 550 may be stored in the cloudand queried over communications network 170 on an as-needed basis or itmay be downloaded and stored in a vaporizer profile on the vaporizerdevice 100 or mobile device application 182. The data set of vaporcorrelation data 550 (in whole or in part) may be updated andtransmitted to device 100 or mobile application 182 in periodic orad-hoc updates. Such updates may be for requested materials with activeingredient(s), or may provide a library of materials with activeingredient(s). A user of vaporizer device 100 may subscribe to a servicethat provides such vapor correlation data 550 updates, or may receivethe relevant vapor correlation data 550 download upon entering orscanning a code on the packaging of material with active ingredient.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary graph showing measured amount of activeingredient(s) extracted in a vaporizer device 100 against crucibleheating time for various different temperature profiles. Such vaporcontent data 240 may be captured using the apparatus and capture methodin the present disclosure, with the measured amount of active ingredientbeing analyzed by a laboratory. Other graphs may be plotted that showedthe measured amount of active ingredient against other parameters, andthe graph here is merely an example. Various different temperatureprofiles for different temperatures in the crucible may be plottedagainst time that the crucible is heated. As may be seen, the warmer thetemperature, the more active ingredient of a particular type that may bereleased. However over time, the active ingredient is drawn out of thecrucible and there is less concentration after a given time so theactive ingredient yield curve flattens over time. Also plotted againstcrucible heating time and crucible heating temperature and captured inthe dataset are the vapor production data 190. Vapor correlation data550 may be determined using machine learning module 540 analyzing thecorrelation between training data that includes the measured amount ofactive ingredient(s) captured (from the vapor content data 240) and thevapor production data 190.

It should be noted that different active ingredients may have differentoptimum vaporizer extraction temperature/time combinations. Further, apartially-used or an aged sample of material may have a differentextraction profile than a fresh sample. Vapor correlation data 550 mayconsider such different variables such as sample age and previousextraction cycles to determine optimum extraction parameters forvaporizer device 100.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a process for using a vaporizer device 100with a vaporizer profile management system (“VPMS”) 500, in accordancewith the present disclosure. In step 702, dose information is enteredinto vaporizer device 100. This may be entered via a user interface onthe device, or via application 182 running on mobile device 180, orthrough another connected interface device such as an internet browserinterface, or a voice-controlled internet device running a compatibleapplication e.g., Amazon Alexa, Google Hub, Apple Siri, etcetera. Instep 704, the material is identified, and the material identifier isentered into vaporizer device 100. Again, this may be entered via any ofthe user interfaces or via camera recognition, barcode, QR code, or anyother machine-identifiable code. In step 706, the vaporizer deviceparameters are determined to satisfy the dose request for the material.This may be a look up in memory on vaporizing device 100 itself, a lookup stored on the app 182, or a look up stored in the cloud (e.g., arequest to VPMS 300). In each case, the information is returned back tovaporizer device 100 to configure it to satisfy the dose request for thespecified material. Next, the dose is dispensed in step 708 using thevaporizer production parameters selected to deliver the requested dose.

Various embodiments disclosed herein are to be taken in the illustrativeand explanatory sense, and should in no way be construed as limiting ofthe present invention as defined in the appended claims. It is to beunderstood that individual features shown or described for oneembodiment may be combined with individual features shown or describedfor another embodiment.

All numerical terms, such as, but not limited to, “first”, “second”,“third”, or any other ordinary and/or numerical terms, should also betaken only as identifiers, to assist the reader's understanding of thevarious embodiments, variations, components, and/or modifications of thepresent disclosure, and are not intended to create any limitations,particularly as to the order, or preference, of any embodiment,variation, component and/or modification relative to, or over, anotherembodiment, variation, component and/or modification.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vapor sample collection apparatus comprising: aconnection port adapted to connect a first end of a tube to an exhaustport of a vaporizer device; a vacuum pump connected to a second end ofthe tube; a manifold connected to the vacuum pump; and a vaporcontainment vessel for collecting a vapor sample, wherein the vacuumpump is configured to draw a predetermined pressure on the tube.
 2. Thevapor sample collection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vaporizerdevice comprises: a receptacle for holding material having an activeingredient; a heating element for one of heating the receptacle orheating air as it flows to the receptacle; a vaporizer controllerconfigured to receive vapor production information from sensors insidethe vaporizer device, wherein the vaporizer controller is furtherconfigured to generate vapor production data comprising a sampleidentifier associated with the material and at least one of: crucibletemperature, vapor temperature, vapor flow rate, vapor pressure, vaporflow duration, vapor density, heating duration, material pack density,pressure differential, material age, and heating power; and anelectronic memory configured to store the vapor production data.
 3. Thevapor sample collection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vaporizerdevice is configured to generate vapor production data.
 4. The vaporsample collection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the exhaust port isaccessed by removing a mouthpiece of the vaporizer device.
 5. The vaporsample collection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vacuum pump isconfigured to draw off a metered amount of material collected from thevaporizer device.
 6. The vapor sample collection apparatus of claim 1,further comprising a controller connected to the vacuum pump, whereinthe controller is configured to control the collection of the vaporsample into the vapor containment vessel.
 7. The vapor sample collectionapparatus of claim 6, wherein the vapor containment vessel comprises aplurality of collection vessels.
 8. The vapor sample collectionapparatus of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to controlvapor collection parameters comprising vacuum pressure, flow rate andtime of capture.
 9. The vapor sample collection apparatus of claim 6,wherein the controller is configured to control the manifold toselectively allow capture into a single vapor containment vessel ormultiple vapor containment vessels.
 10. A method of vapor samplecollection comprising: connecting a connection port to an exhaust portof a vaporizer device, the connection port being attached to a first endof a tube; activating the vaporizer device to vaporize a samplecontaining an active ingredient; drawing a predetermined pressure on asecond end of the tube using a vacuum pump; and collecting a vaporsample from the vaporizer device in a vapor containment vessel.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising drawing a metered amount of vaporcollected from the vaporizer device.
 12. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising controlling the collection of the vapor sample into the vaporcontainment vessel.
 13. The method of claim 10, further comprisingcollecting the vapor sample into a plurality of collection vessels. 14.The method of claim 10, further comprising analyzing the vapor containedin the vapor containment vessel by a laboratory.
 15. The method of claim14, wherein the analysis of the vapor is performed using one of massspectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography.
 16. The methodof claim 14, wherein the analysis provides detailed information of thecomposition of contents of the captured vapor.
 17. The method of claim10, wherein activating the vaporizer device further comprises generatingvapor production information from sensors inside the vaporizer device.18. The method of claim 10, further comprising generating vaporproduction data comprising a sample identifier associated with thematerial and at least one of: crucible temperature, vapor temperature,vapor flow rate, vapor pressure, vapor flow duration, vapor density,heating duration, material pack density, pressure differential, materialage, and heating power.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprisingproviding the vapor production information to a remote cloud computingplatform.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising processing thevapor production data on a machine-learning module in communication withthe remote cloud computing platform.